94-year-old Wally Richardson Spent a Decade Cheering on Students

This “cute little old man” is making a big difference in the lives of local youngsters.

For the last 10 years, Wally Richardson has been standing outside of Marina Village Middle School in El Dorado Hills, California so he can greet all of the students with life advice and fist bumps before they start their school day.

The 94-year-old veteran was recently brought into the spotlight when Gina Arnold was dropping her daughter Audrey off at school earlier this week.

Audrey specifically asked if she could be dropped off at the corner of the school so she could talk to the “cute little old man”.

When asked who this mystery stranger was, Audrey told her mother: “He stands at the steps where you drop me off and encourages all the students as they walk in. He talks about kindness and gives us advice and fist bumps! It’s the best part of the day!”

Sure enough, when Gina drove to the aforementioned steps, she saw Richardson standing amongst a crowd of delighted students. She then took a photo of the exchange and posted it to Facebook with words of praise for the senior.

“This is exactly the kind of love and support our middle schoolers need,” wrote Gina. “This man stands out side the school every day and gives the gift of encouragement to every student that comes near him.”

Richardson simply says that he enjoys talking to the kids because he wants to leave a positive legacy in the area – and clearly, his efforts have worked.

There is now a mural on the school wall that is filled with some of the veteran’s most precious bits of wisdom so that it can serve hundreds of students in the future.

Gina told Inside Edition that there are even kids in college who still remember and benefit from the advice Richard gave them in their younger years.

“I strive to be like this guy as much as possible,” says Gina. “We all should.”